If a Tree Falls
by TarnItUp
Summary: Straight up fluff crack drabble one-shot thing regarding the question 'if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound'


**Straight up fluff done out of sheer boredom. Written during the time it took to eat 2 candy canes left over from Christmas. ****Meh, I really didn't put much effort into this -_- Sorry if it's weird and not-at-all flowy... and very, very OOC. It's late and I'm tired...**

A problem without a solution was the misery of a headache without a purpose.

Everywhere he looked, it seemed, another facet in the story rewrote every detail and changed what it meant. There was no quantifiable solution in his eyes, and yet there was. It was there, he could tell, but it seemed so far out of his reach.

That didn't keep him from reaching.

His temples ached and he felt the pounding in his head with every throbbing pulse of blood passing behind his eyes. His mind raced. Thoughts spun and danced, a meaningless and yet purposeful waltz of intricacies.

It was all so pointless. Surely, it would drive him mad, and yet he refused to admit defeat.

So what if a tree fell in the forest?

It had all seemed so silly initially, a small issue for him to consider and debate and generally play around with, but it had grown so much the deeper he delved.

Sound, by definition, was something you hear. If no one hears it, it isn't a sound. But, when you take other factors into account, such as the concepts of waves and vibrations of the air, the concept grew.

Breaking it apart, the question only postulates the absence of sentient receptors. The existence of hearing animals in a forest environment would be anticipated, therefore the sound would have been heard and even under the more limited definition (strictly physics) there would have been a sound.

Then what if you considered a deaf person nearby? They would be able to feel the vibrations of the falling tree, but have no ability to perceive the sound itself.

So that begs the question- is sound the vibration of the particles in the air, or the perception itself of said particles?

The whole concept made Zexion want to smash his face against a wall.

Actually, he did just that. And it brought Demyx running to his side, concerned.

The diminutive blunet seemed utterly perturbed by the problem, and his vexation made him oblivious to the blood spilling from the gash in his forehead from where the skin had broken.

Concern was alit in Demyx's cerulean eyes, and the blond led him away from the silent library, through the shadows of a portal, and into Demyx's bedroom, where Zexion finally began to snap to.

"Demyx...?" he asked, turning his head slowly towards the neophyte who had helped him, confusion plain on his face.

Demyx's answer was a warm smile like a refreshing summer's day.

Smokey blue-grey eyes ringed in deep cobalt rounded in a daze, befuddled by his location.

"How did I... get here?" he asked.

Demyx chuckled. But the sound was dry and was somewhat devoid of amusement. "You were trying to bash your head in with a book, and I don't think Mansex would be too happy if one of his little favorites gave himself brain damage on accident," he replied awkwardly, the abashed grin never leaving his face.

Zexion sighed, taking a seat at the foot of Demyx's bed. "Probably not..." he murmured, blinking his eyes owlishly at his open palms.

Demyx sat beside him, watching the 6th member carefully, as if he were a fragile doll that would hurt itself if he didn't pay enough attention.

They were silent for a minute.

Zexion seemed to be utterly comfortable with the silence, but his eyes were starting to cloud over again with thought. Demyx, on the other hand, was nearly bursting at the awkward tension. He didn't like the quiet. He couldn't stand it.

He tried to keep quiet; he knew that Zexion preferred it that way, and he didn't want to see Zexion smash his head again. The rivulets of scarlet streaming from his temple had finally begun to clot, but they had left behind icky trails of liquid red that were beginning to congeal on the pale flesh. Demyx didn't want to see it happen again.

Without thinking, he spoke again.

"Why were you hitting yourself?" he asked, his tone level.

Zexion flinched. He had been startled by the sudden words, but he calmed down quickly. Beryl-like eyes turned to face Demyx.

"I was thinking about... trees," he answered reluctantly.

This made Demyx frown. "Trees? What does that have to do with anything?"

"If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to here it, does it make a sound? This is what I want to know. It seemed like such a simple question, but it really isn't..." Zexion's tone was full of regret at the wasted moments spent on the problem, but he was at a loss. He had gotten to the point where it was no longer a matter of simple curiosity- it was a matter of finding the solution no matter the costs.

His head fell into his hands. At this point, he was utterly dejected.

"Why bother?" Demyx's answer was brusque and sudden. It surprised Zexion. He looked up again.

"What?"

The corners of Demyx's lips tugged up. "Why bother? It seems like it isn't something you would even know. I mean, if you hear it, doesn't that mean that you aren't doing it right? And if you don't hear it, then it doesn't mean anything. So I think, why does it matter?"

Zexion blinked.

"That's the most rational thing I think I've ever heard come out of your mouth, 9," Zexion uttered in shock.

Demyx looked ecstatic at the praise, and praise it was, particularly coming from Zexion. He gazed at the smaller nobody with adoration in his eyes.

It was quickly replaced with concern.

Demyx stood up quickly and hurried to his bathroom, returning moments later with a damp rag. Demyx knelt in front of Zexion.

"You still have blood all over your face..." he murmured soothingly, dabbing gently at Zexion's face with the towel. Zexion froze under the light pressure of the cool cloth, watching Demyx warily.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked finally, staring insolently out from under his bangs.

Demyx said nothing as he finished cleaning away the blood. After the trails of red were cleansed from Zexion's pallid face, Demyx stood and took the rag back to the bathroom.

When he returned, he took a seat beside Zexion again.

"Someone has to save you from yourself."

This made Zexion pause. Zexion was well known amongst the other members as almost a recluse. He hid in his library and avoided social interaction with most of the members like the plague, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Did he really need someone? He never had before... or did he? Even to care for him as a child, Xehanort to guide him, Xemnas to act as a leadership figure, Lexaeus practically a brother...

Maybe he did need people, more than he realized.

"That still begs the question, though," Zexion finally answered. "Why were you in my library? No one ever comes down other than Vexen or Lexaeus. And you neophytes don't ever take the time to read books."

Demyx blushed and chewed on his lower lip, all traces of the previously cool demeanor long gone.

"I'm waiting."

Demyx's blush darkened. "I... might have been... spying on you... a little bit."

Zexion's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. "A little? I smell you in my library all the time. You aren't exactly stealthy. I demand to know why you refuse to leave me alone."

Demyx grinned again. The way he was able to switch 'emotions' so easily mystified Zexion, but he refused to back down.

"Think of it like that tree thingy. Sometimes, there are answers, and sometimes there aren't. Maybe you should take a step back from it all and you might see the answer," he replied in a husky tone.

Zexion cocked his head to the side. "What are you talking about?"

Demyx hummed quietly, raising a hand to Zexion's face. A light finger trailed along Zexion's jawline, and Demyx was satisfied to see goosebumps rise along the curious nobody's skin.

The finger stopped at Zexion's chin, where the thumb and forefinger met and gently held the head still.

"Zexion..." Demyx breathed, his voice breathy and light as he leaned forward, his words skimming lightly along Zexion's cheek. His eyes closed.

And then their lips met.

The contact was brief, but it was everything Demyx had been hoping for. The touch was like an explosion within him, a racing flame that rocketed through him at the speed of light.

Demyx's eyes slid open slowly, savoring the moment.

Zexion's own dusky orb was wide. Pink saturated his exposed cheekbone with a delicate hue.

He blinked once, then again.

"Demyx, would you possibly help me with Schrodinger's paradox?" he gasped faintly.

**GWAAAAHH What the fuck is this shit? GUUHHHHHHHH derp. **

**I need some sleep TT-TT ****This is what happens when I nerd out in the dead of night right after finishing the first Kingdom Hearts game again... **

** Leave a review, would you? Please? :0**


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